A fantastic game by any measure. But lets face it, NO game could live up to this much hype....
Halo 3 vaults over the bar set by its predecessors. Being virtually identical in terms of gameplay, this game is more of a perfection of something that already existed, than an entirely original formula. The winning gameplay set out in Halo 1 was not without its detractors, and those have finally been overcome, any whose played the game know how much fun it is, even the haters know inside that their having a good time.
The single player story is excellent, bringing a variety of levels, scenarios and bad guys to shoot at, as well as some excellent plot developments and deaths that'll knock your socks off.
Multiplayer is, as ever, incredible, one of the best multiplayer experiences in the world, so balanced, so smooth....'nuff said.
Now the problems....
Halo 3 Single Player is short...really short. I know it has the same amount of levels as the other two but this is the big finale for cryin' out loud, something that lasts more than an afternoon would be nice.
The Graphics are....strange. The colours, the (incessant) bloom effects, the explosions, the models, the water are all great, but they serve as mere distractions from some of the textures, the human faces, the Scorpion tank, gawd, even, at times, the Chief himself...which are all terrible to the point of embarrassing. Still, these flaws are almost invisible outside of cutscenes and barring you looking too close. The resolution is painfully low and the antialiasing severely lacking.
Halo 3 is a truly classic game, though brings nothing "new" to the franchise, it is not the second coming of Halo 1, it could never be that. It is Combat Perfected, but not Combat Evolved.